How Not to Be Popular (Hardcover)

by Jennifer Ziegler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Zippy and full of wit, Ziegler’s work is engaging, touching, and full of laughs." - Rob Thomas, author of Rat Saw God and creator of Veronica Mars

“Maggie and Jack’s relationship rings true, adding an irresistible sincerity to both characters that allows Maggie’s self-discovery and growth to unfold naturally. Thoughtful and fun.”—Kirkus Reviews


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
"Zippy and full of wit, Ziegler’s work is engaging, touching, and full of laughs." - Rob Thomas, author of Rat Saw God and creator of Veronica Mars

“Maggie and Jack’s relationship rings true, adding an irresistible sincerity to both characters that allows Maggie’s self-discovery and growth to unfold naturally. Thoughtful and fun.”—Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734654
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734653
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,694 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 7, 2008

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

A lot of young adult books deal with regular teenagers trying to fit in. HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR, however, is the exact opposite.

Maggie Dempsey can't ever remember being rooted down in one place. Her mother and father are constantly moving, dragging Maggie along with them. But she's getting sick of it. She's emotionally drained from leaving her good friends over and over again.

So when she packs up and moves to Austin, she has a plan. She's going to become a social pariah. She'll throw together outrageous outfits and talk to all the wrong people. What's the point of making friends and getting hurt again if she's going to be leaving in three months anyways?

But things aren't as easy as she thought they would be.

I loved this book. I was right next to Maggie the entire time, rooting for her as she tried to find herself and feeling her pain as she realized her mistakes. I wish I had read this a few years ago; it teaches a lesson that all teenagers should learn and know. Being you is one of the most important rules to follow.

HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR is definitely one of the most interesting books I've read this year. Complete with comical situations and moral lessons, it's one I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Reviewed by: Chelsea Swiggett

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The truth about being a loser...., March 9, 2008

By	Jenny (Reno, Nevada) - See all my reviews

Sugar-Mags Dempsey aka Maggie has ultraliberal parents. They wander carelessly across the U.S. settling down only for months at a time before packing up and leaving.

Except the move from Portland where Maggie's serious boyfriend, Trevor remains, is the final straw. After a week of being a way Trevor decides to break it off with Maggie and this sets in motion a most conniving plan. To be unpopular.

Whatever it is, talking about her vagina, sitting with the losers, owning a Star Trek backpack Maggie will do it just to avoid making friends, just to avoid feeling hurt when the inevitable move comes.

Despite her plans though something happens that makes Maggie sadder than ever though...

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Cute book. I liked it a lot because of the laugh out loud funny extremes Maggie takes to be unpopular. The book is dotted with eccentric, unforgettable characters and a true sense of high school.

I was kind of peeved along the way at Maggie for being so mean about the people who took her in. However, I think every feeling Maggie had was genuinely how a girl in high school would have felt about it all. This book is surprisingly deep, not all shallow and about cliques and it's also fun.

I recommend it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, quick read, May 13, 2008

By	A. Knight "askmonkey" (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel is about a teenage girl named Maggie (real name: Sugar Magnolia) whose hippie parents don't like to live in one place for very long. As a result, Maggie is moving to yet another new town and is tired of leaving and eventually losing her friends. So, she hatches up a plan to be unpopular and thus not make any friends at all, but in the end (I don't think this is a spoiler for anyone) she does.

As a disclaimer, I have to say that I am a fan of adult chick lit, but have a harder time with YA chick lit, mostly because I was not as boy crazy as most of the teenage main characters in this genre. So, in the beginning, I really disliked this book. The main character initially comes across as whiny and snobby--every parent's nightmare of what their teenager will turn into. But after the first few chapters, the humor of her situation begins to seep through. She obviously loves her flighty parents who are embarrassingly funny and begins to realize how shallow she used to be. Eventually she begins to empathize with her new dorky friends (who sound like the type of people I would have hung around in high school). The novel is obviously not intended to be great literature, but rather a fun, quick read and I think it served its purpose pretty well. While I was reading, I could definitely see this novel spinning off into a teen chick movie in the vein of "Mean Girls", starring any of the popular teen actresses of the moment.